Directing the President, Pursuant to Section 5(C) of the War Powers Resolution, to Remove All United States Armed Forces, Other Than United States Armed Forces Assigned to Protect the United States Embassy, From Somalia

Floor Speech

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Mr. JAMES. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of April 26, 2023, I call up the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 30) directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove all United States Armed Forces, other than United States Armed Forces assigned to protect the United States Embassy, from Somalia, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

The Clerk read the title of the concurrent resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I will start by commending both gentlemen from Florida for their concern about our Nation's ongoing military engagements. It is one I share as a veteran of the global war on terrorism.

Unfortunately, there are no silver bullets in policymaking, and when we try to make one, we usually end up shooting ourselves in the foot. It is for this reason and this reason alone that I stand in opposition.

I served in Operation Iraqi Freedom as an attack helicopter pilot. As a combat veteran, Mr. Speaker, I can assure you that no one hates war more than those who have come face-to-face with it. I do not look back on the days of American military overreach and intervention in the Middle East with nostalgia.

That said, as a West Point graduate, I understand history and the lessons it teaches. The siren song of isolationism is tempting, but allowing vacuums of American influence around the world to be filled by terrorists and exploited by communists is a direct threat to Americans at home.

While each Presidential administration has made errors in the conduct of its foreign policy since the tragedies of 9/11 22 years ago, the most egregious of these errors is continuing to concede America's diplomatic leverage and allowing our agricultural, manufacturing, and energy independence to erode.

It is Congress, this body, that has lazily conceded its constitutional duty to guard its war powers jealously from the executive branch. Congress' failure to hold each administration this century accountable for their vague, broad, and failing foreign policies may force Congress to exercise our war powers again in my lifetime.

That is why I agree with Mr. Gaetz, in large part, that war should never be on autopilot nor open-ended. Americans have the right and Congress has the responsibility to understand and approve of the sacrifice that we will be asking our country to make.

Our servicemembers are real people with families. They are sons and daughters. Many weren't even born when 9/11 occurred.

Congress needs to do its job, but it needs to do its job the right way. That is why, rather than continuing an open-ended, 22-year-old law, I believe we must work together to first replace it with an Authorization for Use of Military Force that focuses on today's critical terrorist threats and requires Congress to stay engaged.

We must prioritize first building an America that is strong at home, or we will never have hope of being strong abroad.

Regrettably, my friends, today's resolution does little toward those ends. It will merely direct the removal of U.S. forces from Somalia. That will not work.

Less than 2 years ago, we saw what happens when we pull troops with no plan. Joe Biden's botched Afghanistan withdrawal forced our troops to abandon billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded military equipment. It resulted in 13 young American servicemembers dead. It left hundreds of thousands of American veterans who served in Afghanistan wondering if their efforts were in vain. It embarrassed America on the world stage and left a gaping hole that China and the Taliban rushed to fill in.

What have we learned? The Biden administration responded with the Commander in Chief checking his watch during a dignified transfer of servicemembers killed, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin claiming he had no regrets about the withdrawal.

What have we learned?

Lest my argument be debased or derided as petty partisanship, let me flip the script.

Mr. Speaker, I ask you, what happened the last time Republicans tried to repeal something without a plan to replace it?

I tell you the truth: What happened then will pale in comparison to the consequences of ceding the global strategic high ground of the future to those who mean to harm us.

I will be the first to argue that we have become overdependent on the military rather than investing in ourselves, in our industrial base at home, wielding diplomacy, and harnessing economic statecraft as our tools of first resort.

There is no global stability when America is economically weak and militarily impulsive and has a reputation of retreat. The most devastating effect of abandoning our allies--even now, thousands of our fellow Americans are on the battlefield--is that our friends don't trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. If we want nations around the world to choose America instead of dictators and despots, we must give them a reason to do so.

This premature withdrawal from Somalia will be a great victory for a dangerous al-Qaida affiliate that seeks the death of America.

There is another group of adversaries to keep in mind, as well. Russia and the Communist Party of China would like nothing more than to see the U.S. take a foreign policy of isolationism. There is already a Chinese military base on the east coast of Djibouti. There are reports of more coming to the west coast of Africa, which will pose a direct threat to America.

If we cavalierly withdraw from Africa, the CCP will rush to fill in the void like they did in Afghanistan. By emboldening terrorists, Russia, and Communist China, this resolution would harm the national security of the United States.

Again, Mr. Speaker, I applaud the gentleman from Florida's initiative for forcing this long-overdue debate. I also applaud leadership for allowing it to come to the floor.

I invite the gentleman to work with me to end this executive overreach of over two decades, to pull back our war powers and Article I authority under the Constitution in a way that truly puts America first. As it stands today, regretfully, this resolution will not strengthen America at home or keep her safe abroad.

It is for that reason, and again, that reason alone, that I urge my colleagues to join me in opposition.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleague, Mr. Gaetz. He makes a series of great points. The greatest, I believe, is our military cannot be used to fight an ideology. Unlimited war without checking by Congress is unconstitutional, and we must come up with a better solution, which is why the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and me, as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Africa, recognizes that the DOD doesn't exist in a vacuum. We recognize that the State Department and USAID are present in building civilian leaders and institutions. We understand these institutions must work together with different mandates, and we are not shooting our way out of Somalia. We must provide additional ways to fix the problem.

I agree we cannot fight ideology with military. I look forward to working with all sides to figure out exactly how we can strengthen our ties to make sure that we have partners and move from aid to trade with a long-term partner.

We had a rousing speech from the President of South Korea just an hour ago where he mentioned the great aid that the United States taxpayers and the great investment that we have made over decades and years in South Korea. Now as a shining example, they are the 10th most wealthy country in the world because of America, our great generosity, and because we are exceptional.

I think we have a remarkable opportunity to do that and show that America truly should be the first choice and first option for folks around the world.

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Mr. JAMES. Mr. Speaker, I think this is what we call a violent agreement. We need to fix the ills of the past with a solution for the future.

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Mr. JAMES. Again, Mr. Speaker, I believe we are in violent agreement.

The gentleman from Georgia mentioned, I believe, and it is extremely appropriate, that this isn't about protecting another nation. It is about protecting ours.

Today, I think that we are just standing here, and I think if we were to take the vote on the floor, I am pretty sure that most of our colleagues would agree that the executive branch is abusing its power and that we as Congress have ceded our constitutional authority to hold them to account.

We should absolutely hold the executive branch to account for their two decades of missteps, but a number of my colleagues and I in the freshman class have been here but a mere 110 days. I am sure I can speak for most of us that we refuse to be held bound to the mistakes of the past.

We are inspired and excited to make sure that we correct those mistakes of the past with strong policy to benefit the American people and our allies in the future.

That requires not repealing something without a replacement.

That requires the executive branch to come to us for permission, as they are constitutionally obligated to do.

It is our duty to retain these authorities, but not proceeding without an event-based strategy rather than a time-based strategy.

Regrettably, I restate that this resolution does nothing toward those ends. It merely directs the removal of U.S. forces from Somalia within a time frame without regard for what may be going on on the ground.

Again, I applaud and appreciate forcing this debate. It is long overdue. I respect and thank the gentlemen, Representative Mills for his service and Representative Gaetz for forcing this very important debate.

I am looking forward to taking this up with the help of the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), my friend, in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to make sure that we can satisfy our obligations, first to the American people and also to our allies who count on us to take up the mantle and use global leadership not to be isolationist and also not to be imperialist but to make sure that we are staying strong at home first.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers. I have the right to close, and I will continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, again, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz) and the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mills) are both very well-intentioned on this resolution today, and I firmly agree that Congress must reassert its Article I constitutional responsibility to declare war.

This body must replace the 22-year-old counterterrorism AUMF with an authorization that focuses specifically on the threats that we face today. Yes, it must be both time and event based because, frankly, when I heard Representative Gaetz, my colleague and a great patriot as well, mention this may not be a threat, I got shivers down my spine, and I remembered something when I heard former President Obama talk about ISIS as the JV team.

Under this administration, we have wide open borders, and frankly, it is a direct security threat. I am not comfortable taking our eye off the ball with an Al-Shabaab that is well funded that has designs on killing Americans.

This resolution, as a blanket statement, I do not believe accomplishes very specific, targeted time- and event- based goals to keep Americans at home safe.

Our troop presence in Somalia is small, serving primarily in a training role. It has made critical national security gains. As I will mention again, I am a big Lions fan, and I learned growing up as a Lions fan that the reason we all knew the names of the offensive linemen is because our quarterbacks kept getting sacked. I learned very early that sometimes the best offensive linemen, the best small units are the ones you never know their name.

I believe that those nameless, faceless heroes all over the world in corners that the administration has not justified in 22 years deserve updated AUMFs with congressional authority and approval in order to justify their presence putting their lives on the line, being at risk, and being away from their families.

We all agree that the way we are doing things is wrong and must be fixed. Let's work together to fix it. We would not even be having this conversation if not for the courage of my colleagues to stand up and force the issue, so I personally thank them for forcing this debate. It is long overdue, and I am excited to do well by our servicemen and - women all over the country.

I again call on my colleagues to please join me in opposition to this resolution and commit to working with all of our colleagues to make sure that if the administration wants to send our men and women into harm's way, they better doggone well come to Congress first.

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